The present disclosure relates to an adjustable merchandising system. More specifically, the present application relates to merchandising systems provided with a position lock for dividers or tracks mounted to a rail of the system, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present exemplary embodiment is also amenable to other like applications.
Merchandising systems are generally arranged to stock, store or display various products or merchandise, on shelving for example, for potential customers. Many stores sell various retail items that have various geometric shapes and sizes. It is therefore desirable to provide merchandising assemblies that are individually configurable to stock, store or display the various products being sold in various arrangements. One such merchandising assembly is a self-facing merchandising or shelving assembly which urges product toward a front edge of a shelf. Such shelving assemblies are mounted on a shelf on which product is supported. The shelving assembly generally includes front and rear rails to which one or more dividers, tracks, side walls, or combination tracks and dividers are mounted.
Dividers neatly separate multiple products into columns on a shelf. They are commonly employed with track-mounted pushers which urge product forward on the shelf. Dividers and pusher assemblies are used to increase sales and enhance presentation of product on a shelf. Multiple sizes and styles are available. In some designs, a combined unit includes a divider mounted to the track. In many instances, these units are held on to the shelf by elongated mounting members, such as a front rail and rear rail. The front rail can include a vertically oriented wall or fence aligned with a front edge of the shelf to prevent product from falling off the shelf. Generally, both the front and rear rails include an attachment profile that runs lengthwise along a width of the shelf. The divider, track, or the combined unit, which for simplicity's sake will all be termed cooperating member, is adapted to be connected to a front rail, and, if one is employed, a rear rail extending along the shelf at a desired position on the shelf. The attachment profiles of the cooperating members are adapted to support the cooperating member and can be adapted to retard or prevent movement of the cooperating member sideways along a longitudinal axis of the rails while also allowing a user to adjust the location of the cooperating member along the shelf as needed. One such example of a shelving system is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 8,496,126 to Mueller et al. The subject matter of that patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
However, it is known that some cooperating members can unintentionally shift laterally from a desired position on the shelf due to external forces. These forces could be caused by the stocking or retrieving of a product from the shelf. Additionally, a cooperating member that includes moving parts such as a forward feeding system may include a spring loaded pusher that could, in the process of urging product forward on the shelf, shift or move the cooperating member laterally from its desired position relative to a rail mounted to the shelf.
Various different track systems and attachment profiles have been utilized to support the cooperating member on the one or more rails of such merchandising systems. To prevent or retard cooperating members from shifting laterally, particularly at the rear rail, various additional securing features have been employed. However, it is undesirable to provide a shelving system that includes securing features with additional parts or which requires complex geometries.
Therefore, there remains a need to provide a shelving system that can support cooperating members along the front and rear rails of the shelving system and that helps prevent unintended shifting or lateral movement of the cooperating member on a shelf without the use of additional parts or complex geometries and which also allows a user to optionally move the cooperating member sideways or laterally along the shelf as needed.